Paul Erdos
was a gifted and productive mathematician who died about 20 years ago, at age
83. He was a sweet genius who had two great loves, people and numbers, and he
continued doing math until his last day on earth. Fortunately, you don’t have
to be an expert in calculus to appreciate Erdos. You don’t even have to be good
at adding and subtracting. His qualities can be embraced by anyone who wants to
be a better servant.
Erdos had “no
home, no family, no possessions, no address,” wrote Charles Krauthammer in The Washington Post. That makes him
sound a little like Jesus, doesn’t it? But Erdos was not a religious leader. He
traveled from one math conference to another, from university to university,
and would knock on the doors of mathematicians around the world. When they
answered the door, he would say, “My brain is open,” and then he would move in.1
Erdos always traveled light. He
had two suitcases, each half-full. One had a few clothes, while the other
contained mathematical papers. He owned very little and rarely carried more
than about $30. His math colleagues were always happy to take him in because
they enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with him. His friends took care of
his checkbook, his taxes, his food and the other matters of everyday life so
that he could focus on math. Numbers were his passion, his joy and his true
calling. This focus helped him keep his suitcase light.
Teachers who serve
Although he taught at a number
of American universities, Erdos preferred not to stay in any one place for very
long. He was the opposite of the scribes and the Pharisees criticized by Jesus,
teachers who “love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in
the synagogues, and to b
